The Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir (''Chorus Puerorum Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

choir in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, consisting of 76 boys and men as of spring 2008. It represents a tradition of boy and men cathedral choristers in

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

stretching back almost 900 years. As of 2007, the choir is one of the leading boys' choirs in Europe and has built an international reputation through tours, performances in radio and TV, as well as numerous CD-recordings. The present artistic manager and conductor is

Bjørn Moe Bjørn Moe (born 19 March 1945) is a Norwegian conductor. He is an associate professor at the Department for Music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and has since 1973 been conductor of Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir. He star ...

History

The Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir has been closely linked to ''

Trondheim Katedralskole Trondheim Cathedral School ( no, Trondheim katedralskole, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway. History There is great dispute regarding ...

'' (the Cathedral School), across the street from the cathedral, for 900 years. The choir holds its regular rehearsals there. At the end of the 11th century Norwegian and English stone carvers came to Trondheim to build the Christ Church, the predecessor to the cathedral. In one of the chapels the stonecarvers' sons were instructed by the clergymen in

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

and liturgy, and the boys sang at masses, just like today's choir. This was the beginning of Trondheim Cathedral School and the tradition of a boys' choir in the cathedral. New classrooms were soon built near the church - probably where the school is situated today. In 1806 the official bonds to the Cathedral School were broken. From then on the song duty was attended to by the Common Parish School, and from 1862 by the ''Waisenhuset'' school (Orphanage school) until 1905. For 22 years Trondheim had no boys' choir. But when planning the 900th anniversary of the death of St. Olav, chaplain

Arne Fjellbu Arne Fjellbu (19 December 1890 – 9 October 1962) was a Norwegian bishop. During World War II, he played a central role in the Church's resistance against the Nazi authorities. He was bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros from 1945 to 1960. Ear ...

, later to become bishop, took the initiative to establish a new boys' choir in Trondheim. In the autumn of 1927 Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir was re-established under the leadership of conductor Erik Saltnessand. In 1948, organist Ludvig Nielsen took over as conductor.

took over as conductor in 1973.

Discography

*''Jul i Nidarosdomen'' (1992) *''Laudate'' (1994) *''Julekveld'' (1995) *''Våre vakreste salmer og sanger'' (1996) *''Snørosa'' with

Åge Aleksandersen Åge Aleksandersen (born 21 March 1949 in Namsos, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is one of his country's best known singer/songwriters and musicians. Some of his most well known songs are "''Lys og varme''" (''Light ...

Ulf Risnes Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The ...

and

Bjarne Brøndbo Bjarne Arnstein Brøndbo (born 19 September 1964 in Namsos, Norway) is the vocalist and the front figure in the Norwegian rock group D.D.E. since the start in 1992. Brøndbo has previously played in the bands Humanic (1978–1985) and After Dark ( ...

(1996) *''Stille Natt'' with

Arve Tellefsen Arve Tellefsen () (born 14 December 1936) is a Norwegian violinist who has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Arvid Jansons, Herbert Blomstedt, Gary Bertini, Evgeny Svetlanov, Bryden Thomson, Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo B ...

(1998) *''Jul med guttekoret'' (1999) *''Våre beste julesanger'' with

(2001) *''Evige Øyeblikk'' (2003) *''Frelsesarmeens Julesanger'', a charity-record for the Norwegian Salvation Army, with

Ole Edvard Antonsen Ole Edvard Antonsen (born 25 April 1962) is a Norwegian trumpeter, musician and conductor. Antonsen was born in Vang, Hedmark, now part of Hamar. He is best known as a solo trumpeter, active in different genres of music; classical music, chamber ...

(2004) *''Aria'' with

(2006) *''I Wish'' (2008)

References

External links

Official website - English language sectionImages of the choirOfficial facebook-page
{{Authority control Boys' and men's choirs Norwegian choirs Musical groups established in the 11th century 11th-century establishments in Norway Musical groups from Trondheim